Both members of Chattooga County's three-person state legislative delegation will be taking their first oaths of office when the 40-day session convenes on Monday.
State Sen.-elect Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, beat out two other Republicans in the July 31 primary to appear unopposed on the November general election ballot.
The battle was over the new District 52 seat, left vacant when redistricting shifted state Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, east to District 14. Hufstetler’s district covers all of Floyd and parts of Chattooga, Gordon and Bartow counties.
State Rep.-elect Eddie Lumsden, R-Rome, unseated Democrat Barbara Massey Reece in November. The district, also newly aligned, covers all of Chattooga and a greater portion of Floyd than in previous years.
Office and committee assignments are expected to be made by each chamber’s leadership in the coming week.
The session unofficially kicks off tonight with the 51st annual Wild Hog Supper, a $20-a-plate barbecue near the State Capitol where lawmakers and other elected officials mingle with lobbyists and corporate donors.
Both Lumsden and Huftsteler signed a pre-election pledge to support a $100-per-day cap on the amount a lobbyist can spend on each legislator. Hufstetler said he expects the Senate to take up the ethics issue almost immediately.
Georgia law requires lobbyist spending reports to be filed every two weeks while the Legislature is in session, and once a month otherwise. Reports covering December were filed last week.
Lobbyist spending
George L. Bowen III of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers listed pro-rated amounts of $100.58 each for a Dec. 12 dinner that and Hufstetler, whose spouse also attended.
No spending was reported on Lumsden.
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